Wednesday, 7 March 2007

Ian MacDonald at JWT pointed me towards yet another "sad-vertisement" from Asia, as covered by FishnChimps. It's a lizard love story from Publicis, Thailand, and it's dripping with tragedy. FishnChimps describes it as "perverse and unusual with a twist of evil" but equally "fantastic" and "with some comically bad acting thrown in as a bonus".

I like the ad, but I'm a bit of a purist. And I wonder if the comic rendering of this sad tale makes the ad all the less brave and less impactful. Personally, I think it's a million miles away from being perverse (although it is a damn sight braver than anything I've seen in the UK recently).

What do you think? Is this sad-vertising? Could it be done without the comedy? Do we only feel a cartoon empathy for the lizards? Or is it the real deal?

This blog...

... kind of came about as a result of an article I wrote in Admap about "Sad-vertising". Until I find something else to write about and as long as negative emotions are unfairly discriminated against in advertising, this is a place to enthuse over the deep, the sad, the melancholy and the meaningful.

About Me

I am a Creative Planner aged 31. Originally from Dublin, I've worked for McCann Erickson and DDB in London, and I currently freelance throughout Europe. Prior to advertising, I worked as an academic research psychologist. I'm happiest when playing piano and I'm an eternal optimist beneath a facade of critical cynicism.